The Girl and The Robot

[Kaili Talith]

That wasn’t Kaili brushing against the bushes or skidding ever so softly against loose dirt in the distance. It wasn’t just the sound of Kaili coming to a stop in the miniature clearing. The wildlife on this island were all skittish which was why the company that previously owned it had chosen it as a prime location for their factories. There was nothing inherently dangerous about the island at all other than the risk of maybe falling, breaking your leg and not having the means to call for a doctor. But considering who Kaili was, and the fact that she already knew pretty much the general direction in which she would find Allyson, that was very unlikely to happen.

She chad her eyes closed. She had sworn to get better at trusting her gut, and this was pretty much the perfect opportunity for it. Kaili laid her entire faith in the lessons she had received over the years from Mara. Instinctive Astrogation had that thing to it that made ‘astrogation’ seem a bit too specialized. It helped her in many ways, but most of them were not related to traveling space at all. Walking around in unknown territory, such as this, was one of the good uses.

Hand raised above her head she pointed her thumb back as if trying to point at someone. Her hand twisted forward and began prodding in the direction in which Kaili was going. Very much so in a way that would make it seem like she was giving someone a pointer.

She would of course not admit to that.

It was, after all a good way to check, like, air density and... Humidity and stuff.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson stayed in one of the bushes she had taken cover in. Every time Kaili had stopped she dove into a bush or a pile of leaves. The last thing she wanted was the blonde to know that she was following her, which could mean that she was cheating or something. Allyson wrinkled her nose and made little faces as she mouthed something Kaili could say if she had spotted her. Something along the lines of ‘That’s cheating!’ Or something like that. Poking her head out though, she did enjoy seeing Kaili wrinkle her nose and get frustrated.

That was normal right?

Seeing that the girl was pointing, she raised an eyebrow. This could have meant two things, she knew where Allyson was and was trying to help her win this game or she knew where Allyson was and was trying to trick her to go the opposite way. Allyson paused and waited to see what the girl did, but the desire to win and make the girl eat her slowpoking words. Shaking her fists silently, she took off and pounce through the brush to try and cut off Kaili. She needed to remain quiet, but to hell with it.

I’m going to win I’m going to win I’m going to win!!!! Allyson happily jogged towards the direction of where the factories could be at according to the way Kaili was pointing. The already hopelessly fallen began to daydream of what prizes she could win if she beat the other girl to the factories. All her day dreams were filled with a blushing Kaili and things that no matter how hard she day dreamed would never happen - not now that is.

Day dreaming and running were never a good combo. As Allyson ran she stepped on a thick stick and instead of snapping, it rolled and she tumbled forward and landed into a bush. A bush that was known for making someone rather itchy. Allyson laid there for a moment - not being the type to know what flora was about and where she was laying. It was a good thing she had some length to her pants, but sadly her face and her forearms were exposed.
“Ow....stupid branch…” [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

Kaili grinned. Kaili grinned wide. There was no mistaking that Allyson had indeed picked up on the kid’s pointing in the general direction of the factory. Problem was, not even Kaili knew what was up ahead. At least not until she heard the sound of even more rustling bushes. Something violent, yet harmless. Someone tripping and falling into shrubbery. Kaili slowly approached the ground zero and sure enough she found herself looking at none other than Mrs. Slowpoke Locke herself.

The grin had turned into a smile. The kid looked at the bush in which her friend was laying. Eyes danced between the bush and the woman within. She passed them both by without really uttering a word. She knew the bush, she knew exactly what it meant from the times Micah had stuffed the leaves of said bush down her neck as a kid.

Head twisting to her shoulder in order to speak to Henry.

“Go help her. She won’t like what she will be faced with in the coming hour.”

The droid nodded once and leapt off the kid’s shoulder to scuttle off towards Allyson.

“You will regret that!” Kaili called over her shoulder to Allyson. “Now come on! Get up, sleepyhead.”

Meanwhile Henry climbed up onto Allyson’s shoulder.

[ She’s right, you know. ] He added. [ At least it’s not, you know, poisonous. ]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Poisonous? Allyson blinked as Henry remarked and agreed with Kaili on this one. Things still didn’t really register with the non outdoorsy type girl. Standing, she did her best to reorient herself right and dust herself off. “Ugh I was daydreaming, the worst.” Looking at Henry she frowned and scratched the back of her neck. “Is she always this competitive?” Things like this really didn’t hit Allyson to close to home. She only grew up with one sibling and even then the boy had never shown interest in competing with Allyson. He had his own interests and kept to himself. Stretching her back, she groaned and looked down at the plant. “Why did she say I’d regret that?”

Looking down at her arms and hands she couldn’t see anything just yet. Shrugging it off she continued to follow Kaili, the girl had gained some distance on her, but she would soon begin to catch up. She ran less in the forest and more towards the area that seems to be the path most people have taken. It didn’t have as many large sticks and she had stopped day dreaming - since that had been the cause of her accident earlier.

Allyson was athletic, she ran usually every morning so this wasn’t something that bothered her. Focused and driven, she quickly caught up to Kaili and as she passed her she looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out. “Look who’s the slow poke now!” She continued to run somewhat blindly towards the direction that Kaili had pointed out for the Factories. The trees were becoming scarce which mean that people probably had cut them down to make clearings for something. Getting close! [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[ Errr, usually worse. ] Henry lowered his chassis as if he were to frown. [ You should see the fights she and her brother used to have. Never seen sand and dust twirl around for that long. ]

Kaili was a beast of determination, yet in all she did she exercised caution. Outlasting and outsmarting as well as outmaneuvering was a lot better than just bruteforcing your way through a task. As much as Allyson was in the lead right now there was nothing to say Kaili wouldn’t catch up to her. Because she would, and then Allyson would come to regret ever accepting a challenge against Kaili Talith.

Focusing on herself and the force, Kaili appeared next to Allyson in an instant... Walking?

“I will win either way, you know.” The kid stopped. Would Allyson turn around? Either case Kaili pushed forward again appearing before Allyson. “You don’t know it yet, but you will know what I mean in an hour or two.”

[ She is talking about the bushes. ] Henry interjected.

“Oh come on, Henry!” Kaili blurted out most disappointed in the betrayal. “Whose side are you on?”

[ Common decency, ma’am. ] The droid responded and turned to talk to the Corellian woman. [ The bush will cause an itch unlike any other you have experienced before. It’s from the seeds that grow below the leaves. ]

Kaili scrunched and shook her head before turning back around in a legitimate sprint. She was going to win this, with or without Henry blatantly giving the opposition advice.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson blinked as Kaili had caught up to her. Then she remembered how much stronger the girl was with the Force and instantly blamed that. Sighing softly, she kind of wished she was stronger with the invisible all powerful Force. It would make this a bit easier, but this was the hand she was dealt time to deal with it. The girl moved ahead of her and Henry was telling her something about leaves and seeds. She had some time from the way they were talking about. Also apparently Kaili and her brother would fight and it was crazy. Watching Kaili run ahead of her she caught herself staring, shaking her head, she quickly regained composure and turned it up a notch.

“An hour or two, I have time then.” It was all she said as she pushed her body farther than she usually did. She just needed to get close enough. Catching up to Kaili’s heels she changed directions for a split second giving her an angle that she would need to do what she was going to do. She thought quickly this could end in two ways. One way, she would completely miss and fall forward into the ground. The last thing she wanted her face being smashed into was the ground. Second way, would be she gets the tackle and is able to throw the blonde off her game.

The plan was, to tackle Kaili, grin and then get up and take advantage of her having to get up and get going again. She could possibly make it to the looming shadow of the factory that was probably 50 to 70 meters away. It was visible somewhat, or something she was never really good at distance unless she was piloting. She was going to win!

The angle was right and she lunged to tackle Kaili, as she reached for her, Allyson would drop her shoulder slightly and attempt to wrap her arms around Kaili’s waist to take her down into the ground. She forgot about the third and fourth option as she attempted to tackle the girl. She could end up initiating something she had been day dreaming about or and this was the most likely...Kaili would fight back. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Something caught Kaili around the waist and with a thud and ‘oomph’ she hit the ground. It didn’t take a genius to realise that she had been tackled by Allyson who remained on top of her. The competitive kid’s head was spinning like crazy. Having a small fraction of the air in your lungs knocked out of you would have that effect. Having someone wrap their arms around you also had a tendency to keep that going, yet Kaili struggled nonetheless.

Twisting her body and arm towards the left she sought to pry herself free from the loser’s grip. The play was slowly encroaching that other territory. The territory she usually ventured to only with Micah. The part where the gloves were tossed to the ground. The kid grunted and groaned as little by little the old and truest version of Kaili resurfaced. No bars, no limits, just a goal and the struggle to win. This was Kaili, this was the girl she had once been. Up to any challenge, big or small, with little to no care about the means in which she won. Other than some semblance of honorable sportsmanship, of course.

An arm broke free and began pushing at the side of Allyson’s head until Kaili broke free and continued running. Part of her itched for something more... unsportsmanlike, but she withheld it. Getting Allyson a black eye wasn’t exactly one of those things that truly cemented a long lasting relationship a few days in.

“I will win!” The kid growled one last time as she made way towards the factory. “NOT. YOU.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson felt her face being smooshed by Kaili’s hand, which was something she had expected. Still, she wasn’t going to let the girl win. She seemed pretty determined to do it, but a part of Allyson really wanted to win. She wanted to just dominate. Though as she got up she heard the growl and the extreme determination to win. Maybe this was something she should just let go and let Kaili win for the sake of seeing another day. Allyson gulped and looked around for Henry.

“Why do I have a feeling she’s going to end up being the death of me?” Smirking, Allyson dusted off her clothes and broke into a sprint. There was something more fueling her, that determination and...the urge to push Kaili a wee bit more. She caught up to her and ran alongside her for the time being. Reaching out she pushed gently at the girl’s shoulder mostly not to topple her, but to let her know that Allyson wasn’t afraid of this little competitive streak.

In one last attempt to make sure she pulled ahead, Allyson nudged Kaili shoulder to shoulder hopefully to push her off her path to victory and secure the win for herself. “I’m not going to let you win so easily. Gotta earn it, sweet heart~” With the last bit of her effort, she pushed forward the factory drawing ever so close. Victory would be sweet along with whatever Kaili decided to dish up. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

And stumble Kaili did. Each step making her grow all the more impatient, all the more... Angrier. She felt her teeth grit. It felt like time came to a grinding halt. Each footstep, both hers and Allyson’s, echoed heavily like ear-deafening war drums. One blink. Kaili set her eyes on the Corellian. Two blink. Her hand slowly extended itself behind her back. Three blink. Allyson would feel a torrent of kinetic energy try to push her off the ground as if she had stepped inside a metaphysical waterfall.

No sounds. Just growling and one angry Kaili running towards the factory with the last few bits of energy she had saved up.

There was no sign at all for the well-being of her friend, just the dangerously determined look of a Talith giving their all to win. A Talith that would come to regret what she did, of course, but a Talith that did what she did no less.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson mentally celebrated way too early. She continued to run as fast as she could towards the building, she could hear Kaili's footsteps behind her and with the satisfaction that she was going to win she didn't take notice to what was happening. Pressure was all around her and she had stopped moving forward. Everything happened quickly, but to Allyson it moved slower than a bantha herd. Her feet stopped touching the ground and she was flung like a rag doll aside. Panic set in as she looked around and found herself flying.

This wasn't good, but maybe the Force would take pity on her and let her just once use it. Opening her hands she tried to focus all her energy to the particles in the air as she would with the cube. She attempted to draw upon the force to help change her trajectory or even land safely.

Alas, the effort was in vain and she slammed into the trunk of one tree and flipped down into its canopy. The branches and leaves whipped against her body and her arms shielded most of her face. Suddenly she slammed into a thick branch stomach first. The wind knocked out of her she groaned and laid there for a moment. Gasping for air she tried to slide off of the branch and on to the ground, but with her body lacking oxygen she couldn't tell up from down. Slipping off the branch she landed head first and slumped upside down against the tree trunk. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Fingertips brushed against the cold cement walls in blissful victory. A grin spread on Kaili’s lips and finally she allowed herself to breathe properly again. She heaved once, she heaved twice as her mind raced from the win and with a deep breath she straightened her back again and looked over at Allyson who was... Not... Next to her? Brow perked, feet spun on their heels only to catch the sight of something heavy falling down from a tree.

“Oh no.” Kaili’s eyes flung themselves open. Panic! “ALLYSON!”

There was no need to be careful anymore. The force sped her up until she stood right over the fallen woman’s form. Kaili knelt down and checked for pulse. She was alive, good. Didn’t mean the panic stopped though. The kid was all over the place trying to remember what it was Dr. Heah had told class about the basic First Aid routines. Typical that she had blanked those out. Or rather the panic blanked them out.

“Allyson, are you okay?” Kaili propped the woman up against the tree. “Come on, talk to me.”

“Are you hurt? Can you walk?”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

She was turned right side up and the blood stopped rushing to her head. Inaudible groans were made as Allyson sat against the tree somewhat. Her eyes remained closed as she struggled to wake up. A hand waved in front of her face and she shook her head and groaned. "No mom I don't want to go to school. 5 more minutes...." She leaned her head against the tree for another 5 minutes and then opened her eyes, mostly because a beam of sunshine tore through the canopy of the trees.

"Outside...? Why am I outside?" Her head looked straight ahead with a slightly annoyed look, then she looked at Kaili and blinked. The annoyed look faded and she smiled, with a cut lip of course. "Oh hey you're not my mom, hi beautiful". Ally was a bit dazed, but she started to register what was going on. "Ugh my head hurts what happened? Did I fall out of a tree? Why was I in the damn tree?" She quickly remembered the race and went to get up, but her body quickly reminded her what had happened. She leaned back against the tree and looked at Kaili. Straight faced and expressionless she spoke in a monotone. "You cheated."

Allyson let that sit for a minute and then she smiled. "I'm okay, promise. But karking chaos Kaili where did that come from?" @ Kaili Talith

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili bought it. A hand went up to touch against Allyson’s forehead to feel for any kind of pain. Or rather bumps, Kaili wouldn’t know what pained and what didn’t but that wouldn’t stop her from checking the damage done. From what she had gathered Allyson was already in a state of minor temporal dissonance. Would Kaili have to break it to her that her mother was dea-...

Allyson spoke again. Oh, great, she was just playing.

A sigh of relief parted Kaili’s lips.

“I don’t react well to challenges.” Kaili offered in a weak apology. “Even if I am the one who issued it.” The kid rose up from the ground and extended her hand so that Allyson could get up. “You really don’t want to tackle me like that. If it wasn’t because I had reached the factory before you, I might not have noticed you dangling in a tree.”

Kaili looked up.

Nasty fall.

“Ouch.” She grimaced. “Sorry.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Kaili's finger tips were nice against her forehead, even if the reasoning for touch was just to check for injuries. Still, Allyson enjoyed it for the most part. Hearing that the Talith girl couldn't deal well with challenges made Allyson laugh. Nodding her head she should have seen this coming especially after their first night. Things were becoming a bit better and clearer. Her head still pounded and her lip hurt now. Using her shirt, Allyson wiped away the traces of blood from her lip. Which seemed to be the worse of her injuries.

Allyson mused over the thought process of tackling Kaili. She nodded agreeing with the girl and chuckled once more. "I probably should have just tripped you. If I would have won I wouldn't have been dangling from the tree though." Sticking her tongue out she sighed. " I was so close man. I need to factor in that you're not afraid to use the force."

Winking, she spoke again with that Corellian stubbornness. "I'll beat you next time. Mark my words." Using the tree to stand up she continued to smile. "You know what would make me feel 100%?" The smile turned into that devilish smirk she usually wore when around the Talith. "I think I deserve a prize for surviving this challenge. So a prize would make me feel 100%" [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili kept her arms extended as Allyson got on her feet again. Almost as if she was expecting to catch her friend, should they fall over. This was her fault, she wasn’t exactly blind to the fact. Allyson kept on joking, vowing to win next time as well, and although Kaili wanted to go and prove her wrong, she decided not to. Quite simply because she had no way of actually proving her wrong yet.

There was a smirk on Allyson’s lips as she started talking about a prize. Kaili had no idea what she was referring to.

“Oh, of course.” She kept her arms extended, knees bended in the off-chance that Allyson would still fall, or something like that. “What would you want as a prize, Allyson?”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

It was adorable how Kaili didn't connect dots, but it made things funner for Allyson, though she knew with time Kaili would begin to pick up on hints. Allyson couldn't wait for that moment, but she knew she would miss this part of Kaili - she hoped she would never lose it. Smiling still she watched as the other girl prepared to catch her if she fell and lost her balance.

"Don't worry about me, I'm alright." She had to say it. Hopefully it would ease Kaili a little bit at least. Back to grinning she leaned closer to the girl.

"You." Allyson answered the question of the prize. She knew already the girl was going to ask what she wanted and it was pretty obvious. "Just a kiss though. I didn't win." Shrugging, the Corellian just continued to smile. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

The kid did ease up. She eased up a little, but that still counted, right? She had taken a step back, let her arms dangle to her side for a moment before reacting to Allyson leaning in by leaning further back herself. It took a while before she realised what was going on and leaned in towards Allyson. She wanted Kaili. Before the girl could ask her question -- however dumb she would try to play it -- she was granted the answer she’d ask for anyway.

She leaned in, set her lips against Allyson’s and...

Ew.

“You taste like aged copper wire.” Kaili grimaced as she withdrew herself from Allyson. “We should check if they left anything to clean that wound with in the factory.”

Because nothing screamed of sterile bandages and disinfectants like an abandoned factory that had been left to it’s fate for half a decade. Kaili grabbed Allyson’s hand and began leading her towards the factory. It would seem that just this once, it was the Talith kid’s turn to drag the other around.

“Come on, we should hurry.”

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson watched as she pulled away and gave her a confused look, then the grimace and the ew told her what was wrong. A sheepish smile and a hand rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry... Totally thought wiping it would help. Guess it's worst than I thought." Allyson put her finger in her mouth and felt along her lip and her gum line.

It had cut deeper into her lip and gum line. It was going to be annoying to heal, but with a bit of bacta she should be okay. Her hand was grabbed and she followed along behind Kaili. It was odd being the one dragged she had always been the type to drag. Still she was happy that Kai was here with her.

The facility came back into her view and she looked up. There was heavy doubt that they could find what they needed to help at least stop the bleeding. "Kaili I don't think we are gonna find stuff in there. Do you know any of that force healing stuff?" Allyson had been healed by a healer before and wondered if it was a common trait with all forcers. [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili shook her head. First at the apology, then at the question whether or not she knew healing. As luck -- or rather the lack thereof -- would have it, Kaili did not. She had spent all her time on droids, and while she had thought about giving healing a try she had quickly come to realise that getting down to the nitty-gritty of actual work in medicine was a lot better. The force was a consuming entity to work with, both mentally and physically. It could drain your willpower and self-control much like it could drain your actual energy.

“No, I never saw the use for it.” Kaili looked around before dragging Allyson back towards the forest again. “I have a medkit in the speeder, it should still have what we need.”

And that wasn’t to say it would hurt to get it closer. If they were even going to check the factory or not. Kaili wasn’t sure it was the best of ideas, but unless Allyson said otherwise, she’d let her check it.

“Clearing, path, left, path, clearing, path, up ahead, speeder.” Kaili repeated to herself. “Or that’s what my gut’s saying anyway.”

And her gut tended to be right. Perks of the force, perhaps.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson nodded, she ripped a corner of her t-shirt and shoved it into the part of her lip that was cut on the i code of her mouth. She looked a little funny, but it would allow for pressure to be put on her wound. The bleeding would stop soon, mostly because her body would be able to create a barrier now that the wound was somewhat dry. Allyson shook her head and pulled Kaili back towards the Factory. Sounding like she had a piece of bread in her mouth she nodded and pointed. "No lets go to the factory. We made it this far, it would be a waste if we went back to the speeder now. Look I'm fine."

She have a toothy, but bloody grin and pulled her companion towards the factory. "Anyways you never know we might find some sort of first aid in there." Walking, she didn't pull Kaili anymore- mostly because her body was a bit too sore for that. The itch had started up, but it wasn't as bad as the pain she felt from the scrapes and bruises from being thrown about in a tree.

"So you know what kind of businesses were ran here? I mean if the building are in good enough shape you could always refashion them to be storage units or even a bigger operation for your company." Looking over at the girl, " Of course if you ever decide to go that route. I like your shop the way it is. It's perfect." There seemed to be a stress on the word perfect as Allyson meant more than the shop. Shrugging she scratched the tip of her nose and pulled out a splinter. "Ow, okay now that it's out I'm better."

"That was pretty cool what you did though. What other things can you do with the Force? I heard that there are some Jedi that can meditate for centuries and not die or need food or water...insane..." [member="Kaili Talith"]